For most of us, the last and hardest place to lose weight is around our midsection.

This is because our body is hardwired to protect our vital organs with not only the cushioning the a layer of fat brings, but also the warmth that it brings by being a natural insulator.

But because most of us aren’t hunters and gatherers anymore, it isn’t quite as vital to survival that we carry our extra calories around our waistline.

So How Do You Get Rid of It?

You’ve probably already noticed that a thousand crunches each day isn’t really possible and isn’t exactly the best thing to get rid of fat layers.

Instead, crunches develop muscle, often bulky muscle, that can detract from a sleek, toned look.

In order to get rid of that fat and reveal your washboard abs that are hiding underneath you’re not only going to have to do the right cardio, but you’re also going to have to eat right as well.

Here is a recipe for a great smoothie that not only gives you lean protein, but also satisfies your chocolate craving:

1 scoop low-fat chocolate ice cream
½ cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
½ cup low-fat chocolate milk
1 tablespoon chocolate whey protein powder
1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
3 ice cubes

 Simply throw it all in a blender and pulse until you get a smooth consistency. Throw one of these down after a good workout and you’ll have what you need to trim down and tone up.

Unlike so many other guys strutting around the gym, Michael Phelps isn’t spending hours each day targeting his core for that defined six pack.

Yet despite this lack of attention, almost all competitive swimmers easily have carved abs.

So How Is It Done?

The truth is, swimming burns more calories than almost any other cardio that you can do. Michael Phelps eats an average of 4,000 calories. For breakfast. Despite this huge amount of calories (sometimes hitting 12,000 a day) his time in the pool leaves him a lean, mean swimming machine.

These burned calories result in less fat that on your midsection, revealing more toned abs underneath.

But swimming can also build up those abdominal muscles, and we’ve found the most effective underwater workouts for your core.

Freestyle

More than any other stroke, the freestyle keeps your body long, creating lean muscles. as you keep your legs and head close to the surface, both your lower back and abs will tauten.

The alternating strokes will also cause your body to rotate as if on a spit. As you pull each arm through the water you tighten the opposite side of your abdominals helping you build up your obliques and get an all over workout.

Butterfly

Easily the most strenuous stroke, the butterfly relies heavily on strong abdominals and lower back muscles to propel you forward and through the water.

Each time you kick with your legs together, the motion starts almost at your belly button, letting your core be the powerhouse for this stroke.

But unlike so many ab workouts that leave your lower back strained, the butterfly kick’s rebound relies on the back muscles to make sure you can go through the full motion of the kick. Not to mention that every time you breathe you’re pulling your upper body out of the water with your back muscles.

So rather than sticking to boring crunches, expand your repertoire for ab workouts to ones that you can do in the water.

Going to the movies or turning on the TV these days can make you feel like you’re the only one in the world without a perfectly chiseled set of abs.

But even though we’d like to think that there’s Hollywood magic behind those rippled abs, the truth is that there are a lot of secrets that so many people don’t know.

We thought we would compile a list of some of the best workouts to help you get the abs that all the celebrities have.

So we teamed up with some of the researchers at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania to see which gadgets and classics produce the best results.

Ab Sling

By hanging these straps, the Ab Sling is able to activate your ab muscles in incredible ways.

However, most people said they despised the exercise because it was very uncomfortable and people even experienced shoulder and arm fatigue and pain.

Ab Rocket

This rocking chair helps ease you into washboard peace by reporting the neck strain that comes with traditional sit-ups.

Ab Lounge

Similar to the Ab rocket, this lounge chair is supposed to increase your abdominal muscles by allowing your back to hyperextend.

However, be warned that this exercise might exacerbate any back problems if you have them.

Hopefully you can take some of these words of wisdom to heart so that you won’t be the only one left out of the six-pack party.

For many people, hours spent doing crunches and planks can return little to no results when it comes to carving out that ripped abdomen.

Although some people might get disappointed and think that washboard abs simply aren’t in the picture for them. However, this isn’t the case. Most of the time, a lack of results can be because of these simple mistakes:

You’re Skipping the Weights

If you’re simply relying on gravity to help you get your muscles going, you could be doing yourself a huge disservice. Resistance is what stimulates the muscle fibers in the body and promotes muscular growth.

Most people don’t use the weight of their arms to increase their biceps, why use the weight of your core to train your abs?

If you also incorporate weights into your exercise you can reduce the amount of time that you’re working out. Try out a medicine ball throw while lying on a Swiss ball. Shoot for 12 to 15 repetitions. Complete a total of three to four sets.

You’re Overworking Your Abs

Surprisingly, one of the biggest things that could be keeping you from a six pack is even more sit ups. Even though abs recover relatively quickly due to the fact that they’re essentially our “core,” that doesn’t mean they don’t need a break too.

When you have to work sore muscles, you’re not able to do work quite as effectively. This means that one workout done on sore abs could be only as effective as half of a workout done with rested muscles.

By giving your abs a break, you could be increasing the results you get from every workout.

You Don’t Get Off the Ground

When most people think of six packs, they think of sit-ups, crunches and planks that keep you rooted to the floor. However, laying down on the job doesn’t produce results.

Exercises that require you to stand, kneel, twist, turn or lift will place more emphasis on stability and balance, in turn stimulating more muscle fibers.

If you’re really serious about changing the look of your abs, try these three tips and see how they can maximize your workouts.

It is a common misconception that a thousand sit-ups a day will get you washboard abs.

In fact, building the muscle for those ripped abdominals isn’t even the biggest hurdle toward getting your dream stomach. The real challenge for most people is getting rid of that layer of fat that hides your chiseled muscles.

We’ve put together a cardio routine for you that has been shown to target the fat that is stored in your belly region, so that you can be that much closer to getting your perfect abs:

Treadmill

Whether you run on a machine or you prefer the open road, this will work for you if you have a way of gauging your speed.

Warm up on the treadmill for about five minutes at a pace of 6 mph. Then boost your speed up to 7 mph for 30 minutes. For a cool down, jog lightly at 3.5 mph for five minutes.

Although this will only be about 4.3 miles, the rising and lowering of intensity will allow your body to pull from different energy stores.

Not only are warm ups good for your muscles so that you don’t strain them, but they have proven to be vitally important in teaching your body how to burn fat.

By varying your workout with low intensity and high intensity training, you’ll be able to do both aerobic and anaerobic workouts.

If you don’t have a treadmill, one way you can estimate whether or not you’re performing an anaerobic or an aerobic workout is the talk test. If you’re able to carry on a conversation without much difficulty then you’re probably working aerobically. If speaking is hard and makes you slow down, then you’re probably going at a pace that is anaerobic.

Make sure to incorporate both anaerobic and aerobic exercises into your workouts so that you can burn more fat as well as build muscle.

Don’t do 1,000 crunches a day when your muscles will just stay hidden beneath layers of fat.

So often people can get discouraged and think they’ll never be able to get their dream abs, when really it is easier than they think.

The key is to do workouts that target fat burning and muscle building; that way, you’ll be able to build the six pack while also carving it out.

What to Do

For this exercise, you’re going to start by hanging from a pullup bar, or any other sturdy bar, and raise your legs up to the bar so your torso is about parallel to the floor.

Then you’re going to want to brace your abs and rotate your legs to one side as far as you can, and rotate to the other side.

That’s one rep.

Keep this workout going by repeating as many reps as you can and then do as many sets as you can. Make sure that you’re maintaining the proper form, though. If you find that your form is slipping, it’s better to take a rest than risk injury.

Be Warned: It’s Hard

Even the most seasoned ab pro will find that this workout is extremely challenging. But if you take your time you’ll find that you can master it properly.

This workout works your core in every conceivable way.

There’s a crunching motion to get your legs up to the bar, an isometric contraction to hold yourself up there, rotation when you twist your legs to each side, and resistance to rotation (your abs have to stop your legs from falling to one side at the end of each twist).

You’ll find that with this intense ab workout not only will your muscles be sore, but they’ll also be a little closer to the skin with a little less jelly belly hiding them.

Even though swimsuit season is winding down, you’re not going to want anyone mistaking you for Santa as the holidays approach.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you go to the gym and you’re surrounded by people who look like they know everything there is to know about fitness. But surprisingly, by knowing a few, simple workouts, you can keep your routine variegated enough that you’ll work out all kinds of muscle without using every piece of equipment at the gym. We put together a simple list of four ab workouts that when done regularly, will help you chisel every area of your core.

1. Long-Arm Weighted Crunch

This abs exercise targets your upper abs. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand and extend your arms straight back beyond your head. Now crunch your rib cage toward your pelvis, keeping your shoulders still and your arms straight. Don’t generate momentum with your arms. Perform 12 to 15 repetitions. (And for more diet and exercise tips that will help you sculpt six-pack abs, pick up a copy of The New Abs Diet for Men today!)

2. Weighted One-Sided Crunch

This abs exercise targets both the upper abs and the obliques. Lie with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and hold a dumbbell with both hands by your right shoulder. Curl your torso up and rotate to the left. Lower yourself, finish the set on that side, then switch directions and repeat, holding the dumbbell next to your left shoulder. Perform three sets of eight repetitions to each side.
Crunch/Side-Bend Combo

This exercise targets both the upper abs and the obliques. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and hands behind your ears. Curl up so your shoulder blades are off the floor. Bend at the waist to your left, aiming your left armpit toward your left hip. Straighten, then bend to your right. Lower yourself to the starting position and repeat. Perform three sets of eight repetitions to each side.

3. Seated Ab Crunch

Sit on the edge of a bench. Grip the edge of the pad and lean back slightly, extending your legs down and away and keeping your heels 4 to 6 inches off the floor. Bend your knees and slowly raise your legs toward your chest. At the same time, lean forward with your upper body, allowing your chest to approach your thighs. Return to the starting position. Perform three sets of 12 repetitions.

4. Corkscrew

This abs exercise targets both the lower abs and the obliques. Lie on your back, with your legs raised directly over your hips. Your knees should be slightly bent. Place your hands at your sides with the palms down. Use your lower abs to raise your hips off the floor and toward your rib cage, elevating your feet straight up. Simultaneously twist your hips to the right. Hold, then return to the starting position. Repeat, twisting to the left. Do 10 repetitions to each side.

Who doesn’t want six pack abs? Since the age of the Greeks, the pinnacle of manhood is to have a chiseled rack of abdominals. Unfortunately these rippling muscles are not easy to come by and they usually require a healthy diet and proper exercises.

Despite the difficulty in obtaining them, it seems like everywhere you look there’s a belly button staring back at you from the middle of six, perfectly squared, fleshy lumps. There are also slimming centers and gyms that advertise very alluring photographs of people who have strong, muscular bodies and people fall in the trap and become members of these gyms in the hope of developing those dream six packs. The instructors at these gyms make people do some hard exercises and cardio workouts that are no doubt beneficial for the body, but as long as people do not exercise control over their eating habits, it is almost impossible to get those elusive six packs.

But my point is not to deter people from trying to develop six packs. In fact, this is to motivate people and make them realize that it is possible for everyone to have a muscular body. How to get a six pack is simple and what men need to realize is that the right diet is perhaps the best way to achieve your six pack goals. In fact, it really all boils down to what you are giving to your body and no matter how hard you workout at the gym that is going to decide whether you will achieve the desired result. Avoids foods such as:

White flour
Processed sugar
Pizza
Hamburgers
Soda

and with the right amount of strength training, that six pack can be yours.

Ok, so you’ve seen Transformers, we all remember her glistening panel of abdominals as she looked under the hood of the car, do we really need to see more reason for every guy you know to be entranced by Megan’s foxy body? Unfortunately, this is a free country and Megan does have every right to have as rippling a set of abs as she wants, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to catch up, right? Thanks to Megan Fox’s own personal trainer, Steve Jordan, we can follow these six guidelines to get a beach bod like our dear friend Megan’s.

1. Start your day with a helping of fruit

Not only can fruit combat cancer and other deadly diseases, but they are also a good way to kick start your metabolism and give you enough energy to go on that morning run. Fruit is also a good dose of fiber which can help you feeling fuller longer, meaning you won’t snack as much.

2. Mix up your protein servings

Make sure you’re getting your protein and your veggies from at least noon until dinner time. But don’t get into a rut, by eating the same meals and combinations of meats and vegetables you don’t allow your body the opportunity to gather all the essential vitamins and minerals it needs.

3. Google your restaurant

If your friends are going out, make sure you find out where the reservation is so that you can hop online and check out the menu before you’re starving. Making a decision on a full stomach will allow you to decide with your brain and not with your stomach, allowing you to make a more sensible decision.

4. Play more often

One thing that Megan Fox always makes a point to do is bring the fun back into things. If you’re having fun when you’re working out you’re going to enjoy it and want to do it more often.

Get outside

It’s summer now so you don’t have the excuse of bad weather to keep you from enjoying mother earth. Take walks, ride your bike, do whatever you can to use the large muscles of your body for what they were made to do—work!

Keep moving even while you’re inside

Even if you have to stay cooped up indoors, try to take a little break and do a few pushups or some wall sits. If you’re sitting at a desk, put your feet flat on the floor and try to lift your body off your seat, flexing every muscle in your quads and butt.

We might not have Megan Fox’s wardrobe or photographers surrounding us, but we can sure rock a bod like hers with the right mindset.

One of these fine days I’ll tackle liposuction as a treatment for what you want most out of life. Yes; what you really, really want… is to lose that bulging belly. Fat. Abdominal protuberances. Debilitating excess weight that puts extraordinary strains on knees and ankles; and heart. Oh! for the easy answers.  If you are in the giddy, higher atmosphere of the Hollywood elites, puerile politicians, and monstrously monied Unternehmer, you can take whatever the spa throws at you. Whatever.

But us poor, everyday, average Joes and Jos have to find the better way. If you are ready mentally and physically (remember the sage advice to check with the doc to get the green light) then let us begin. If you are not ready you need no advice on how to procrastinate the day of repentance.

“Routine” that’s about the same as “Habit” isn’t it? So what you really, really want… is “Commitment.” You will need to start by exercising your brain. Think and be thin?  Well you need to plan if there is to be a routine. Prioritize your time and set the stage for your dramatic transformation.  Focus on the need for regular periods of persistent exercise. Fix in your mind the idea that consistency will be rewarded.

When you have decide to start the routine you will need to prep those pecs and assuage those abs. For the best results you need to warm up. Get that cardio coming. If you have the time jog about 2 miles. If you have a treadmill step up. Start with the easiest setting and increase speed for the last half minute or so.

I recommend that you use a gym where there is an instructor to show you the right technique. You may want to make an all out assault on multiple muscles. Or on different days you may focus on specific muscle groupings or regions. And remember too that you should do your ab workout on alternate days  so about 3 days a week.